Mangajin39 - Computer Assisted Learning

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1994 if-10n 1011 ~17 (1r!,IJ11!!11on ~til i!AJ.il;rl39-l}

JAPANESE

POP CULTURE

&

LANGUAGE

LEARNING

}

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m

~

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---a

AP.PI

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Icatlon

and text

Inside

;;;-~~--=

- - .,.M

a

--New Game in Town

Since last summer's

debut, the

japan

Professional Football

L

eague has

had

great

success finding

fan

s in a

nation

w

h

ere

baseball ha

s reigned

su

preme-until now.

by

Kirk Martini

-League soccer is more than a new game: it's a new attitude, a new relationship between a game and its sponsors. In baseball. Japan's pre-mier team sport, this relationship is close, and the game reflects the spartan values of disci-pline and sacrifice that pervade traditional corporate culture in Japan. The J-League has introduced a much looser

relation-hip. using a marketing blitz to create its own image of an ex-citing, glamorous, and exotic sport. Corporations support that image because it's popular, and that support makes it more popu -lar. Lt's an upward spiral that shows no signs of slowing.

In

the beginn

in

g

...

Hardly known as a soccer powerhouse, Japan has played the game longer than most people realize. Popularity hit a peak in

the 1960s when the Japanese team finished in the top eight at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and took the bronze medal in the 1968 Olympics at Mexico City. The game soon slid into popu -lar obscurity, however. played mainly by corporate-sponsored teams. By the late 1980s, corporate teams were playing to crowds of only a few thousand spectators. A rag-tag coll ec-tion of these anemic teams. combined with shrewd and re-lentless marketing. formed the beginnings of today's J-League hysteria.

Corporate-sponsored teams have been an important part of the Japanese sports scene for decades. Many comp<mies maintain teams in sports such as rugby. soccer, baseball. vol-leyball and American football. These teams arc like supe r-charged versions of an American company softball team. Some corporate ba eball teams have million-dollar budgets that in-clude cheerleaders and all the trappings of a pro team. Players are on the books as company employees. but many are really full-time athletes, some with salaries in the $200,000 range. Like numerous other facets of corporate Japan in the 90s, how -ever, many teams have fallen victim to the recession.

Although both J-League soccer and professional ba eball have their roots in corporate-spon ored teams, they've taken • slid into popular obscurity = ~I? IJ.III! (:.\!:i ti? 1 L sl1irtmwna ni wosurerare [slide into = ~1.:, IJ.III! 1: · · · (:

t.: 1.>

1hirm. wmc1 ni ... ni IWmj • I popular obscurity= ill: 1: ~111? it"(~'

t.: ~'~JUl.~ yo ni

shimrete:ina_!jotai] • rag-tag= ·~-tt~!cl6 yosemsume • ~hrewd = lUtt II Q) t.: ~' nukeme 110 nai • I rappings

=

filii I)

'b Cl)Jft~alta ka:arimonolfu:okuhin • face1 =

i

lu/f,Jtlfl

men/yci11i

different paths. Pro baseba

ll

has maintained the

tradi-tional

r

ole

of the corpora

t

e

team

as a

public relation

s

arm

,

generating good

will

and enhancing

public

im-age for a

single

s

ponso

r

.

I

n most

cases,

the re

l

ation-ship

between team and

company

i

s

very

t

ight.

... and then there was )-League

T

he

J-L

eague

i

s

based

on

a

complete

l

y different

co

n

-cept, and

p

l

ays

by d

i

fferent busines

s

rules.

Th

e

league

is

the brainchild of

i

ts

chairman,

Kawabuchi

Saburo.

a ve

t

era

n

of

Japan

's

1964

O

lympic

soccer

team.

K

awabuc

hi

's

p

h

i

l

osophy is to make money by

put-ting

on a show and

marketing it

l

ike

crazy.lfthe

s

how

and

the marketing are

good,

then

corporate

spo

nsors

will

cramble

t

o

s

ign up. A

r

med with market research

indicating that interest in

soc

cer among tho

se

in

their

teen

s

and twenties

nearly matched intere

s

t in

base-ball, Kawabuchi

s

tarted

se

lling h

is

vision of a

profes-siona

l

soccer

l

eague

t

o pote

n

tial

sponso

r

s

in the

l

ate

1980

.

It

was the peak

of

the bubble

economy, and

compan

i

es

were

flu

s

h with

cash and

eager for new fo

r

ms of

prom

o

tion.

Kawabuchi lined up more than 100

s

ponsor

s.

(Opposite page) A /-League match is more than a show of athletics-the spectacle of devoted fans (cheering on the Shimizu S-Pulse) is

port of the fun. (Above) japanese soccer legend Romosu Rui (r.) de

-fends Verdy Kawasaki against the Kashima Antlers.

Fo

r

most teams, the primary

s

ponsor i

s

a

large

J

apanese

corporatio

n

s

uch

as

Mit

s

ubi

s

hi

or

Mazda. Ln

addition,

th

ere

are

several

s

econdary

sponsors and shareholders,

many

of wh

i

ch

are foreign companies

such

as Nest

l

e

,

Ford,

and

Coca-Cola.

Some

t

eams

h

ave sponsorsh

i

p from local

citizens groups as

well. Each

play

e

r

's

uniform

is

decorated

with at leas

t

three

cor-porate logos:

one

on the

chest, one across

th

e sh

oulder

s,

and

the log

o

of this

year's of

fi

cial

upplier

of

J

-League

uniform

s.

Mizuno

s

port

swear.

Mizuno

designed

uniform

s

for

the

entire

league

as an e

n

semble.

so

that

only

the

p

l

ayers

-

n

o

t the uni

-forms~lash

on

th

e

field.

Curi

ous

l

y

enough, the

l

ogos

of

secondary sponsors

are

of-ten

m

ost prom

in

ent.

The uniform

s

of

th

e

Ycrdy

Kawa

sa

ki

team

.

.. , this isn't

the

very best way

olkomlnq boslc Jo~, I'd like to 'know what

Is.

"

-<omputer Shopper -K/ComputJng

E

"Bmltz, wotch out! .. .... ._.._,~ "A

god:smd

."

Award

-

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learning System

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Power japa11ese is a comprehensive interactive multimedia learning system for the Japanese language. The main goal of Pown-japa11neistoenableyou to nan expressing your own thoughts in Japanese with minimum fuss. Power japa11ese uses a number of techniques including sounds, interactive drills. inno-vative screen designs and careful selection of materials to provide a vibrant leamingenvironment that main-tains your interest in the information at hand, while helping you to retain what you have learned. Sounds. Thousands of spoken words and sentences are i nstandyaccessible.

Interactive Drills and Games. Active learning at its best! Fully interactive presentation of material is reinforced by challenging and fun driUs which help to anchor all rhe central concepts in your mind.

Selection of Materials. Key basic pauerns of the language which are systematically presented. enable you to grasp the fundament<~ Is of)apanesequickly. Voice record/compare. Record and playback your own pronunciations and compare them to those of native speakers.

japanese word processor Using your PC key-board ro cntrr phoneric Kana charact<rs, you can write, format and print lerter-quality documents in Japanese.

Voicetracks. Implemented as a separate lnrningaid, Voicctracks lets you group and playdifferent phrases to meet your specific travel or business needs. Massiveon-1/nedictionary(senttoyou free when you register). The new dictionary lets you look up meanings both ways-from Japanese to English or vice-versa.

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J- Le agu e

for example, display the Coca-Cola logo across the chest, even though its primary sponsor is the Yomiuri media chain. Mazda sponsors a team that has the Ford logo on the chest. Thi seems like a logical arrangement since Ford and Mazda have had s

ev-eral successful joint ventures in the automotive world, but it

will be a cold day in Okinawa before competitors share shirt

space in baseball.

Always looking for opportunities, the J-League has found

more to offer potential sponsors than individual teams-com

-panies bid for sponsorship of the season itself. The season is

divided into two halves called stages; there's a winner for each

stage and then a playoff series between the two winners. This year the first stage was named the Suntory Series (won by Sanfrecce Hiroshima), and the second stage, the Nicos Series

(Nicos, also known as Nippon Shimpan, is a credit company).

In addition, there's the Nabisco Cup, a short tournament for the whole league, plus the Kodak all-star game. The season stretches

from May to November, and there are sponsors all along the way.

TV rights and League paraphernalia also pull in lots of cash.

During the doldrums of corporate soccer, television rights for a game sold for about ¥300,000, but it didn't really matter, since games were rarely televised. For J-League broadcast rights, Kawabuchi negotiated a headline-making deal of¥ I 0,000,000 per game. Official J-League goods such as towels, watches and

caps are all designed and manufactured by Sony Creative

Prod-ucts; the company markets a line of more than 200 products in over

I

00 stores nationwide. Annual sales are projected in the $300 mjllion range. Products appeared on shelves seven months (cominued on page 58)

• paraphernalia= lllli!ifiiJI. kanren slrolrin • doldrums= 'GtAt/ itrli'i fushinlchintai • negotiate= ~i!JiT .Q klisho suru

Teams of the )-League

JEF United lchlhara

:J:r.

7.::L-T1

-r

:r.

nnlli{

location: Chiba Prefecture Main Sponsors: JR East, Furukawa Electric Secondary Sponsors: Sega Enterprises, Pentel Beginning with 10 teams in May of 7993, the }-League

has grown to twelve teams, with plans to add at least four more in the years to come.

Kashima Antlers

JJt&b7/

~7-location: lbaraki Prefecture

Main Sponsor: Sumitomo Metal Industries Secondary Sponsor: Tostem

Yokohama Fltigels

~~7

•J

::L-7'JvA

Location: Yokohama Main Sponsors: All Nippon Airlines, Sato Industries Secondary Sponsors: Bandai, ldemitsu

Bellmare Hiratsuka

/'{Jv"<- v~~

LocaUon' K•n•g•w•

P•efect"'"

. , . ,

Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Main Sponsor: Fujita Industries .

-It /

7

v ·;;

-'!-

:r..

It

Q

Secondary Sponsors: DDI, Tohato, Hoya Location: Hiroshima

Main Sponsor: Mazda

Yokohama Marinos

-~ Secondary Sponsors: Sumiken, Mazda

;fjt~"<') ./A Location: Yokohama Main Sponsor: Nissan Motors Secondary Sponsors: Kodak japan, Tetoro Blue International

Gamba Osaka

jf /

'"*rli

Location: Osaka

Main Sponsor: Matsushita Electric Secondary Sponsor: Panasonic

Jubllo

Iwata

; ) .:L ~ D ~JEEI

location: Shizuoka Prefecture Main Sponsor: Yamaha Group Secondary Sponsor: Nestle

Urawa Red Diamonds

i~l~l

v

..

1

r

~

1

-v

-t :.-- ;(

Location: Saitama Prefecture Main Sponsor: Mitsubishi Motors Secondary Sponsor: japan Word Perfect

Shimizu S

-

Pulse

7-l

f

;fc:r.. :;.. 1 ~ Jv A

Location: Shizuoka Prefecture Main Sponsors:

TV Shizuoka, Citizens Group

Secondary Sponsors: ]Al, Honen Corp., Ezaki Glico

Nagoya Grampus Eight

:t'2J~7"7 /I~A:X:.1 ~

Location: Nagoya Main Sponsor: Toyota Motors

Secondary Sponsor: Toyota Motors

:It

NT

.

Verdy Kawasaki

"f

:r. Jv'T 1

Jl

l

*tf

location: Kanagawa Prefecture Main Sponsor: Yomiuri Newspapers Secondary Sponsors: Coca-Cola japan, McDonald's Japan

€

m:ll.t:f!l

OBATARIAN

:?"

•

•

11

\

..

,

by

:tm!

EE

'IJ\-::>

V

Z..

I

Hotta Katsuhiko

Na

rrati

o

n

:

:;f 1' ~ IJ 7 / (j:

1:

~

Obawricm 11·a lion o km.-a::Jt 11i memoru. obalarian(') :L\·for book (obj.) wilhoul bu} ing lake nole'>

Obatarians tak

e

n

ot

es

in

s

t

ea

d

of

bu

y

ing the

_

bJ)Ok.

(PL2)

In Book

:

~

:./

-t iJ (J)

f'F

IJ

1i

Nikujaga 110 tsukuri-kata meat po1~1oc., of making mel hod

R

e

ciP-e

f

o

r

Nikujaga

• kawa:uni is a classical Japanese form equivalent to kawanaide. the negative -te form of kau ("'buy"). A verb in the -:u ni or -naide form followed by another verb implies "do the ~econd action without/instead of doing the first action."

• memoru is a slang verb formed from the English word .. memo"+ the verb ending -m. The noun memo in Japanese usually refers to notes you take for your own purposes rather 1han an informal letter sent to others. The proper verb forms arc memo (o) sunt ("make a memo/note") or memo o tont (literally ''take memos/notes''), but memoru is used as a slang/colloquial equivalent. • 11ikujaga is thin-sliced beef. potato chunks. and onions simmered in a soy and

sake broth.

0

S

t

orekee

p

er

:

i

-?

t.:.

<

~

I<

l "'

o

Mauaku :t7:iisllii.

(imcrj.) braten/shamclcss/chccky

"

What n

e

r

ve!

"

(PL2)

i

~

n'

-

~tt

i

.o .::

t

~

-t

7\

t:

~

.. .

Masaka issatsu marugoto uts11su ki ja .. .

\urcly (nol) I (counl) \\holly/entirely cop} inlention as-for

"

S

ur

e

l

s

h

e

doesn

'

t intend to

cop

y

o

ut

the whole book.

"

(PL2)

• mauaku. literally meaning "completely/entirely:· is often used as an exclama-tion/interjection of exasperation.

• masaklt cmpha~iLes a statement of disbelief/incredulity. For this use. the sen-tence typically ends in a negative conjecture (nai daroldesllif). so that is the ending implied here: ... janai dariJ = .. surely isn't/doesn't ...

• satsu is the counter suffix for books. lssatsumarugow wsusu ("copy one book in its entirety") is a complete thought/sentence modifying ki ("intent/intention").

0

So

und FX

:

A

~

A

~

Sura sura

(effec

t

of

wa

l

k

i

ng brisk

l

y)

S

tor

e

k

eeper

:

7 / , ~TiJq: -f:IL li L 1

)

t!.

t

sore 11'0 muri da to Fu11. sa.wga11i

hrumph (cmph.) 1ha1 as-for impossible is (quolc)

.fJ!,

'?

t.:.

J: -)

t!.

lj: 0

omotta \'O da na.

lhought/rcalit.ed il scc'mstappcars (colloq.)

"

Hrumph

,

it look

s

l

ike

eve

n

s

h

e

r

ea

liz

ed

that would

b

e

imp

os

s

ib

l

e

.

"

(PL2)

• fim is a kind of "~non" of sati~faction.

• sasuga ni here gives ~pecial cmphasi& to the understood subject. obmarian: "even she ...

• quotative to marl..s sore 11'a muri da ("that is impossible") a~ the content of omotw. the plain/abrupt past form of omou ( .. think/realize") .

• yo da after a verb means "it ~eemyappears" the action was done or will be done.

• the colloquial panicle na expresse~ a kind of self-check/confirmation. like an English tag. "(it is.) bn't it/(that appear~ to be the case.) doesn't it?"

0

S!t

und FX

:

iJ- 1

Gii! (~ound

of copy

mac

h

ine motor)

S

ign

:

::J

t'-

I

·f'i

IOfll

Kopii I /cllimai jlle11 copy I (counl) ¥10

C

o

pi

e

s I

¥

10

each

• kopii, the katakana rendering of English "copy:· almost always refers to a "pho-tocopy." The verb form kopii .wru means "make a photocopy." Ursusu (above) can also refer to photocopying. but when used in isolation is more likely to mean "copy by hand ...

• -mai is the counter suffix for

nat

items like paper/tickets/records/COs/plates/etc. © Ho11a Kal,uhiko. All righl' re~ervcd. First published in Japan in 1991 by Take Shobo. Tokyo. Engli~h translalion righ1s arranged 1hrough Take Shobo.

Ellfl!W

OBATARIAN

by

flit 83 tJ)-:::>

V

Z:

I

H

o

tt

a

K

a

t

s

uh

i

k

o

Na

rration

:

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?

1_{) 7 / r;t}

_7"

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_{iF.> 0} 0

Obatarian wa gumme de aru. obatarian(s) as-for gounnet isJare

Oba

taria

n

s

are ourm

ets.

(

PL

2)

Sound FX

:

*

3

o

*

3

o

Kyoro kyoro (effect of shifling/searching eyes)

Sign

:

'J-A Sosu

Worcester

s

hir

e

Sauce

• obatarian has become a slang term for ··selfish middle-aged woman:· • guru me is a katakana rendering of the word ··gourmet."

• de aru is a more formal/literary equivalent of daldesu ("'is/are").

• sosu, from English "sauce." by itself refers to Worcestershire-type sauces; all other sauces have to be specifically named: tabasuko sosu ("Tabasco sauce"). tomato sosu ("tomato sauce"), etc.

Oba

tarian

:

Q

.t,

1

'h 1)

Ne, lkari wa nai no?

(interj.) (brand name) as-for not exist/have (explan.)

"Sa

don

'typ

u ha.Y.e

Ikari?

"

(

PL2

)

Sto

rekeepe

r

:

T

" I ~

-tt

A, 0

o'11;1J

tt.

-r-

L

"(

0

Suimasen. Shinagire deshite.

(apology) out of stock is

"

I'm

so

rr

. It

's

out

of s

t

ock."

(

PL

3)

• neat the beginning of a sentence is used to get someone·s attention. like "say/hey." It feels less formal than "excuse me." but not abrupt or rude. • lkari is one of the best-known brands of Worcestershire sauce in Japan. • suimasen is a colloquial sumimasen. which can mean either "sorry/excuse

me" or "thank you" depending on the context.

• deshite is the -te form of desu ("is/are"). Use of the -te form here can be seen either as marking the cau elreason for his apology. or simply as a way of softening the end of his sentence.

0

Storekeeper

:

.:.t,l?

"t"

li

"'~'~r-r--t~'?

Kochira de wa ikaga desu ka? this direction with as-for how is it?

"

How abo

ut this one?"

(

PL

3

)

~~.17:.

-r-

*-'Pl.

i¥¥4=1J

'b

J:

<

.. .

Shinseihin de taihen hyoban mo yoku . . .

new product is-and very much reputation/reception also good

"

It

's

a

n

ew produ

_

cj

_

a

_

nd

h

as been ver

v well r

ece

iv

e

d."

Obata

ria

n

:

t.!.

n

J:

! !

'7

t,

li

1f

'/J'

I?

Dame yo! Uchi wa mukashi kara

no good/won't do (cmph.) our house as-for long ago from

')- A l;t

1

'h 1₎

c

.. .

sosu wa lkari to . . .

sauce as-for (brand name) (quote)

"That won't do. At our house, from long ago, (it's been establi hed that) our Worcestershire sauce is

lk

ari.''

"

No wa

!

W

e've

always

u

se

d lkari a

t our

h

ou

se."

(

PL2)

• kochira is literally "this direction/side," hut it's actually just a polite way of saying "this/this one." Shopkeepers often use the direction words kochiral sochiralachira when pointing out merchandise for their customers. • hyoban literally means "reputation ... referring to how something is being re

-ceived by the public: hyoban ga ii ="is popular/being received well" and hyoban ga warrti ="is unpopular/being received poorly ...

GJ

Storekeep

e

r

:

.:.

·.Aft

-t -

Jv

't'

-¥

ii

"t"

T

~r

o

go-shishoku seru de lwngaku desu ga.

(hon.)-trial eating sale is-and half price is but

"

We

'

re having an introductory

sa

l

e

s

o t

h

ev

'

re ha

lf

price."

(

PL3)

O

bataria

n

:

2~

i?

J:

1

t.!.l.o'

o

Nihon clrodai.

2 (count) l please I give me/let me have

"

I

'

ll

take 2."

(

PL

2)

• clrOdai is an informal ''(please) give me/let me have."

~~AID&•

Xtl•h

Beranmei

Tochan

"P-"

11'~

-M

CJ/1 ~~ .:t:.. ? 7')1

-t:!

A

I

~

0

t.0-7

IJ

l)

t:

by

.:lz:.:rt~~:t:eB

I

T

ac

hibanaya Kikutaro

Q]

On

P

a

p

e

r

:

7 7.

~

Teswo

Test

Tochan

:

'b-=>

i::

!!12591

Li~

"'

i::

:Z!?

<

tj:

ttt.l "'

-t'

o Motto benkri5 slzinei to eraku narenei zo. more \tudy if don't do imponant can't become (masc. emph.) "If

yo

u don

'

t

s

tud

y

hard

e

r

(

PL

2)

Boy

:

!i-

lt'o

Ha-i.

"O

ka

."

(

PL

2)

• benl..yiJ shinei = benkyiJ slzinai. the negative of benk)·ii suru ("study").

• eraku is the adverb form of erai ("eminent/important [person]"), and narenei = narenai ("'can't become"), the negative potential ("can/able to") form of naru ("become").

Kac

h

a

n

:

-?

-:> I! I)

ta

Yappari juku e ikasenai to dame ka nei? after all !>Uppl. classes to must make go ? (colloq.)

"After all, must we send him to a juku, do you think?"

--+

"May_!>e

we rea

ll

y ou

ht

t

o se

nd him t

o a

'uku."

(

PL

2)

• juku refers to a wide variety of after-school and weekend academies that Japa

-nese school children attend to supplement their studies.

TOc

h

an

:

1

~ lv,

i"

1

t

.:

~

-r

o

U-n. siJ da nii.

"

Hmm

,

I

wondc

rr..''

(PL2)

K

ac

h

a

n

:

""C"

b,

f1

t.:

·

n

1L

T-P1

<

·

t;, "'

i"J'i"J'o

i"J'!?

Pll'

o

Demo. rsuki ni iclziman gosen-en gurai kakaru kara nei.

bUI month per Yl5,000 about costs so (colloq.)

"

But

it

costs a

bout

¥15

000

e

r month

so

...

"

(

PL

2)

• an elongated iin is a pause sound implying one is considering how to answer. • soda i~ literally "it is so/that is right," but soda na (or nii) is another expre

s-sion implying one is considering how to answer/respond.

0

Toe

h

an

: '""-

G

t

;r

1

~t

.

H'

-=> o

!!12

~91

-c-

~

1'j:

<

t.:.

-::>

-r:

BerabiJ-mei! Benkyii dekinaklllatte ridiculou.Joutrageous 'tudy even if cannot

;t

L?

<

~ -:> t.:.

A

eraku11afla hiw

Boy

:

,J -:> "( .0 .::

i::

i"J{

&:r.t t!

J:

-:> o to ifte·ru koro ga hanrai da yo!

a while ago (comp.) wha1 I you] are saying (subj.) is opposite (emph.)

"

That

's

the O(WJ>

S

it

e of w

h

at ou sa

id

a

minut

e a

Q,"

(

P

L2)

• dekinakuraue is a colloquial dekinakute mo ("even if/though [they] cannot") from dekiru ("can ldoj/be able to

I

do]"). Benkyo (ga) dekiru is literally "can

study" but it actually means ''do(es) well in school."

• natta is the plain/abrupt past form of naru ("become"). Benkyo ga

dekina~waue erakunaua is a complete thought/sentence ("'became important

even though

I

they] did poorly in school'') modifying lziro ("person/people''). • ikura is "how many/much" and ikura mo is ''however many/whatever quan

-tity'' • "any number/quantity.'' lrai! is a strongly emphatic slang version of iru ("exiM, .. for animate things).

•

ro

marks the object of comparison in the expression ...

ro

lzanrai da. so sakki ro . .. lwllfai da means "is the opposite of a while ago."

li:>Tachibana)a Kikutaro, All right'> reser1cd. FiN published in Japan in 1991 by Take Shooo. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Take Shooo.

Beranmei Tochan

by

.:ll:1E~~::t:E!B

I

Tachibanaya Kikutaro

loc

h

a

n

:

~Wl lj:o

Kesa wa tosmo to kohii ga ii nn.

this morning as-for toast and coffee (subj.) good/fine (colloq.)

"

I

'

d

lik

e

t

o

as

t

a

nd

c

offee

thi

s

mornin!!

.''

(PL2)

K

ac

h

a

n

:

!:>

~, -(It'~ lv ' '

1

tJ

7

t!.

b.lt'

o

Oya. zuibun haikara da nei. oh quite/very modern/Western is/are isn't it/aren't you

"

Mv 20odn

ess.

th

at'

s

very

modern

(

o

f

vo

u

)

."

(PL2)

• ... ga ii is used to express one's choice/preference/selection.

• oya is an imerjection of mild surprise.

• haikara is from "high collar." It came to mean "up-to-date/fashionable" around the turn of the century, when Western "high collar" fashions came to

Japan. Ironically, haikara now has an old-fashioned ring for a word meaning "up-to-date," having been replaced by words like -t?

v

'

naui ("now-ish").

0

Tochan

:

"t'

t

1j: lv

c

7j:

<

1

JJ.

~it -IJ~

b.-

c

~

Lf

Lit'

1j: 7 o

Demo nalllonaku I misoslriru ga ne to sabishii nii.

but somehow I miso soup (subj.) if don "t have is lonely (colloq.)

"But

so

m

e

h

ow

...,

wi

thou

t

mi

so so

up it f

ee

l

s

like

somethin~:'s_missing." (PL2)

So

und

FX

:

~~

7

~~

7

1... ~ "\' 1... ~

-v

Paku pak11 Muslra muslra (taking bites) (chewing noisily)

K

ac

h

a

n

:

~

tt

r.:.

~

1'1:

¢

l.

o Sore ja tsukuru yo.

in that case will make (emph.)

"

Then

I

'

ll

make

s

o

m

e

.'

'

(PL2)

• ne is a slang/dialect version of nai ("not exist/have"). The vowel combination ai changes to e or ei in cenain dialects and masculine slang.

• to after verbs and adjectives can give a conditional "if/when" meaning.

Toc

h

a

n

:

-J

-lv, ~-?

1!

I')

U-n, yappari asa wa misoshiru da nii.

yes after all/really morning/breakfast as-for miso soup is (colloq.)

"

Yeah,

f

o

r br

ea

kf

ast

mi

s

o

s

lziru

r

e

allv

i

s

it.

"

(PL2)

Sound

FX

:

::< ::<-

':1

Zuzu-! (sound of sipping his soup)

• yappari is a colloquial yalrari ("after all/as expected"-> "it really is so.")

• asa ="morning," or, when speaking of food, "breakfast." Asa wa misoslriru da

looks like "morning is miso soup," but it's shonhand for asa wa misoshiru ga ii. "as for morning/breakfast, miso soup is good/to be preferred/best."

loc

han

:

JJ.

~

rr

Misoshiru dato meslri mo kui-te nii. miso soup if is/have rice also want to eat (colloq.)

"If it is miso oup, I want to eat rice, too."

"If

I h

ave

mi

s

o

s

lziru,

it m

a

k

e

s

me want so

me

rice

to

go wi

th it

.'

'

(PL2)

Kachan

:

~ttl:.~ I.-'-?(>

c

l'ilt:.

t!.

J:

o

Sore ja it sumo to onaji da yo. in that case always as same is (emph.)

"

Then

it

's

th

e same (br

e

a

kfa

s

t

)

a

s alwav

s

.

"

(PL2)

Boy:

1.-'

-:::>"t"$

i

-T

o

file kima-su.

will go and come

''I

'

m !!Oin!!

(to

school).''

(PL3)

• kui-te is a slang/dialect version of kui-tai, the "want to" form of kuu ("eat" -masculine, informal).

• itte kimasu, the PL3 form of ille kuru, is the standard "goodbye" used by a person leaving home for work, school, an errand, or some other outing.

~ ,L~ ,v~~ ,"SiiJ~

0

Ishii Hisaichi Senshu

SELECTED WORKS

of ISHII HISAICHI

0

Stu

d

e

nt:

Mot

h

er

:

S

tud

e

nt

:

tr~1:1v, ~1-:>1:"¢?

Kiisan. shiue-ru?

mother/mom know

"

Mom

,

do

you

know?"

"

Mom

, x_o

u know

what?"

(PL2)

=-

: : L -

r /

li

x~· ~ _lv

t:.

J: _{b o}

11'(1 ten.wi nan da \'0 _ne.

Nyt7ton

ewton as-for gcniu' (explan.-is) (en1ph.) (colloq.)

"New

ton

was a ge

niu

s,

right?

"

(PL2)

X..?

£'!

"

Huh?

"

(PL2)

"?

i

I)

;tv

_~

_JU·

_{~ lv}

t:.

_J:o

Tsumari ore mo rensai na 11 da yo. i.e./that means lime al'o gcniu; (explan.-is) (cmph.)

"S

o that mean

s

I'

m a

ge

ni

us too.

"

(PL2)

Moth

e

r

:

~ lv (J) .:

c

-t-'

~:1/v '! Nan no koto ra nen?

what of thing 'is (cmph.)

"W

hat

arexou

talking about'?

"

(PL2-K) • ts11mari = "that is to say/in other words/i.e."

• ore i'> a rough/masculine word for "1/me."

• ya 1U!n h a Kan~ai dialect equivalent of da yo ("is/are··+ emph.). but ya nen i\ more free I) used by female speakers than da yo is. For both da yo and ya nen. intonation makes the difference between a statement and a question.

Student:

=-

::L -

r :..-

li

{fr t:, t.:.

'

J /

::!

z

J!

-c

Nyt7wn wa ochita ringo o mite

cwton a~-for fallen/falling apple (obj.) sec/saw-and

9

I

JJ

z

1H~

L.. t.:.

!v

t!.

J:

o inryoku o lwkken .~hita 11 da yo.

gravity (obj.) di~covcrcd (explan.) (emph.)

"Newton

saw

a

falli

n

g app

l

e

a

nd di

scove

r

e

d

grav-ity." (PL2)

Mother:

i-

i l

-!Jt

Sore ga donai shiw 11 ra? that (subj.) whatlho" did (e~pian.-?)

"So what?"

(PL2-K)

• ochiw is the plain/abrupt past form of ochiru ("fall/drop''). Ochira ringo can

refer either to an apple already on the ground or one that is still falling. since, in the Iauer case, the apple "has fallen'' from the tree as soon as it leaves the branch.

• mire b the -re form of miru ("'see/observe"). The tense of the -te form of a verb is determined by the end of the clause/sentence.

• inryo~u ("gravity") is wrillen with kanji meaning "pull" and "strength." • flaaen .1flira is the past form of lwkken sun1 ("discover''). from flakken

("discovery").

• dmwi i~ dialect for diJ ("whaVhow"), ~o donai Jfliw = diJ sflira (shira is the pa\t form of sum. "do"). Sore ga del shira ban expression equivalent to "so what'?/what'~ that got to do with it?"

• ya typically replaces da in Kansai speech. A~king questions with ya is very common among female speakers in Kansai. but asking questions with da in 'tandard Japanese can sound a bit rough and is mostly masculine.

Student

:

;1-

v

li

'ifi.

t:, t.:.

loc

t~~

z

n

-c

Ore 11·a ochita seiseki o mite

lime as-for fallen grades (obj.) sec/saw-and

'JUJ

z

1€

J,~

L.. t.:.

-lr

0 o

jitsuryoku o hakken shira kara.

true abilities (obj.) disCO\Crcd becau<;e.

"I

sa

w

my fall

e

n

grades a

nd di

scovere

d m

y

tru

e

abi

l

itie

s

.

"

(PL2)

Sou

nd

FX: :f. -tJ

Poka

T

hu

nk

(effect of knock on

head

)

• jirsuryoktt is wriuen with kanji meaning "true/acwal" and "strength." • kara (literally "because") shows he is offering an explanation.

© l'hii Hisaichi. All right' rc~rvcd. Fir-~ publi,hed in Japan in I 99 I by l'utnbu,ha. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Futabasha. 50 Mangajin

~ ,L~ ,v~~ ,~ilia

Ishii Hisaichi Senshu

[i]

SELECTED WORKS

of ISHII HISAICHI

~

I

G

ir

l

s:

~

t!.

-

I

lilv

c

-?

I

.:f -t-!

Yo dfi. I Honl(i! I Kyii!

disagreeable i' truth (squealf,crc:tm)

"Oh~

g

ro

-o-os

s

!

_L

R

e

a

ll-

y-

y

-

y

?

I

Eee

k!

"

(PL2)

S

i

gn

:

; \ A Bas11

Bu

s

• yo da is a contraction of iya da. meaning "'is disagreeable/unpleasant/embar -rassing."" It'> colloquial u~cs arc many. including the equivalent of a school -girlish ··oh gross!'"

• lrontij mean'> ··tmth."" but with the intonation of a question it becomes ··Is that true?/Rcally?""

Man

1:

C'.:.

(J) Mllf~ frt:t?

Doko 110 ~·eifukll ka na?

v.here of uniform I wonder

"

What

c

h

o

o

l

would

tho

se

un

i

form

s

b

e

for

I

wo

n

-der?"

(PL2)

-Man

2: .:. (J)

i!i:

<

~:

1J:.

(-,·;~

iJ?-:>

t:.

-:>

It

i;t? Kono chikaku ni joshikti alia kke na?

this nearby :tt girls" high school exis1ed (recoil.) (colloq.)

"

Wa

s

th

ere a g

irl

s

' s

c

hool n

ea

r

h

ere'?"

(PL2)

• doko 110 wij11l.u is literally ··uniforms of where:· meaning "uniforms from/ for what \chool. ..

• kana a~k'> a conjectural que~tion. ··1 wonder where/what/how/etc."

• kono (""this") modifies chikaku. a noun referring to ··the vicinity/area nearby."" so ktmo chikaku ='"this vicinity/near here:·

• joshi = '"girl(s)/femalc(s)."" and -kO refers to 1.":j I~ kUkO. or more fully. t:i ~If

-:f:f;(

kotii 8llkkii: ··high schoor· -• joshikri ="girls' high school."

• alia is the past form of aru ("exist/be in a place··). and kke expressc~ an ef-fon to recall something that''> vague in the '>peal..er"s memory. He's trying to recall whether he has heard of there being a !.Chool in the vicinity.

Man

:

ttt:."S,

c

·

.:.

(J) •'(:t;(? Kimi-tachi. doko no gaJ..I.ti?

you-( plural) "here of \ChOOI

"Yo

u

girl

,

what

s

c

h

ool

a

r

e

_E)

u

fr

o

m

?

"

(PL2)

Gi

rl

s:

l;i" Ha?

"

Exc

u

s

e

m

e?"

(PL3)

• kimi i~ an informal/masculine word for ··you:· used to addre~~ pcr,ons of equal or lower \OCial Matus. -Tachi makes it plural • "you people/guys/girls."·

• ha spol-en with the rising intonation of a queM ion is a polite "What's that?/ Excuse meT when you didn't hear/under~tand clearly what was said.

G

irl

:

ifii]ij~i

t

'<'

J?

IJ

1

-tt lv

Seifuku ja arimasen.

uniform " not

"

T

h

e

s

e

ar

e

n

'

t

(s

c

ho

o

l

)

unif

o

rm

s.

"

(PL3)

G

irl

:

W1

L

15A

k:il

"t'"-T

o

Nakayo.\·hi j1lgonin-gtoui de-su.

friends I 5-pcr~on grouplband/g;mg is/arc

"W

e'

re

ju

s

t

a group of

IS

friend

s.

"

(PL3)

S

i

g

n

:

1\ A

Basu

Bu

s

• nakayoshi means ·'friends:· implying a clo~e/intimate friendship: "great

friends/chum~/bosorn buddies."

• -nin is the counter suffix for people. so jfigonin means "IS per~ons/people."" • -gmni i~ from l..wni. which can refer to a wide variety of social groups as well as to group'>/~cb of object\. Jilgonin-gumi ="IS-member group (of people)."

J- L eague

(continued from page 26)

before the first J-League game, generating such intense interest that

300,000 people applied for that game's 40,000 available scats.

Regional identity

Despite the hype and hucksterism, J-League teams are less strongly ide

n-tified with their spon ors than most baseball teams. In forming the

J-League, Kawabuchi sought to change the image of soccer a a company

game by dropping references to the sponsor in the team names, using

only a reference to a city. That's the normal arrangement for American

professional teams, but it met with resistance in Japan, where most teams

have traditionally been defined by corporate rather than regional

iden-tity. Most of the twelve pro baseball teams, for example, do not include a

city or region in their team name. But Kawabuchi got his way: all J-League team names include the home city rather than sponsors.

Surprisingly, not one team calls Tokyo home, although several are

based in outlying cities such as Kashima in lbaraki prefecture and Urawa

in Saitama prefecture. The J-League has avoided one of the central

eco-nomic problems of Japanese baseball: the Giants, the only team with

"Tokyo" on its unifonns, generates almost as many fans a. all the other

teams put together. This dominance leaves other teams with few fans,

and means that a series of victorie over the Giants can cause a nation

-wide dip in product sales for the winning team's sponsor. Kawabuchi's

organization gives every J-League team a clear regional identity and a

strong base of local fans. To secure community roots and cultivate native

talent, J-League teams are required to support local youth soccer clubs.

This strategy of cultivating local fans seems to work, because they're

coming in droves. Attendance in the first year averaged more than 18,000 per game. A real J-League enthusiast is not a mere ··fan": he or she is a sapota(+r

:¥

-

7 - , "supporter/booster''), a special breed found only in

J-League stadiums. Baseball ha fans, usually salarymen and OLs who

sit in shin sleeve and cheer in unison with megaphone-shaped

noise-makers while their team is at bat. A really hard-core fan may wear a

team-color happi coat. J-League supporters are something else altogether. In addition to the standard noisemaker-megaphone, their ar enal includes a complete team uniform, a full-size team flag, and face paint in team colors. Throughout a game, supporters chant, dance, and wave their flags

in unison. Their spectacle rivals the game, which is probably for the best

since it's unlikely that they ee much of the game through all the waving

flags.

That foreign flavor

Most J-League team names come from the languages of South America

and continental Europe. The Yerdy Kawasakj name, for example.

de-rives from the Portuguese word for green, the team color. Some teams

use names that evoke the primary sponsor. All Nippon Airways sponsors

a team called the Flilgels, from the German word for wing. Mitsubishi

Motors sponsors a team called the Red Diamonds, a reference to their

company logo, although the team is usually called the Reds.

Other names are less direct, and show the Japanese knack for

ab-orbing foreign words into the language. ln Hiroshima, there's a team

called Sanfrecce Hiroshima. The san pan comes from the Japanese word

for three, andfrecce is the Italian word for arrow. The name means "three arrows," representing spirit, skill. and strength. Osaka has a team named (COIIIillllt'd 011 page 60)

• hucksterism= :tf{i t~ senden sllllgi • come in droves=

/W

h

'S:

~ L.. 'l .jtjl L.. ;~{! ~ / )\/{: L. '( :J1P L. ~{! ~ 11111re o uasltite osltiyosenv'raikyo shite osltiyo.verul in droves

=

/If

:h.'S:

l:t. L. '( /

*'fi

L. '( mure o uasliite /taikyo shite j • arsenal

=

T:

1.

\'

t:,

,

','

,

/

f:.

<

b

.i /

emochihin/wkuwae • knack =

.-/

'}1:

saihJku _{_ _ j}

58 Mangajin

Ishii Hisaichi Senshu

SELECTED WORKS

QJ

Bo

y

:

~ufi

(!)

16¥!1

"<"

'.>'"(

"<"7.> -IJ'C-:>,

~"(:

(!)

~ij:tJ11f~

:a:

"<"-:>'"((h~~'-IJ'?

Kokugo 110 shukudai yaue yam kara sllgaku 110 mondai-slu7 o yatte kurenoi ka?

Japane\c for homework will do for you because/so math for problem collection (obj.) won't I you I do for me?

"

I'll do the

homework for JaP-an

ese (

cla

ss), so

will vou

do

the

worksheet

for math?

"

(

P

L2

)

Frie

nd

1

:

~,~,,

-tfu

li :e.

good/fine (emph.)

"

Sounds good

.

"

(

P

L

2)

• kokugo, literally "national language," is the name used for the "language an~" stream of the Japanese school

curriculum- i.e .. the equivalent of what has traditionally been called "Engli~h" in American schools. • yalle is the-re form of yam (informal word for "do." or in this case "will do"). and following it is a different

yaru. meaning "give to (someone)." When thi~ ~ccond yoru comes after the -te form of a verb. it means "do (the action) to/for (someone).'' so yatte yaru =''(I) will do (something) for you:· In this case. though. he will actually be doing it for both of them.

• the suflix -slrii refers to an "anthology/collection." Mondai-shii usually refers to a workbook. from which a worksheet of problems might be assigned. Thi~ ~eem\ to be the case here.

• yatte kurenai combines the-re form ofyaru ("do") with the negative form of kureru ("give ito me]"). Kureru after the -te form of another verb implies the action will be done by someone else for the benefit of the speaker/subject. As a question. yatte kureuai (ka) makes an informal request, "Won't you ... for me?" ... "Would you ... for me?" Once again. though. the friend would be doing it for both of them in thi~ case.

•

z.e

is a rough/masculine particle for emphasis.

I!ru.'

:

tx~ (!)

r

..

,m~

"<"7.> -IJ'C-:>, HiX.,

ikl

..

a

(!)

1r1m

"<"-:>-r<tt~'-'-IJ'? Siigaku no mondaislu7 yam kara, omae. kokugo no shukudai ya11e kurenai ka?

math for worksheet will do because/so you JnJ>Unese for homework won'! I you I do for me?

"I'll

do

t

h

e

math

work

s

h

ee

t

, s

o will

yo

u d

o

the

homework

for

Japan

ese?"

(

PL

2)

Friend

2: OK.

Ok

e.

"Okay;'

(

PL2

)

• omae is a rough/masculine word for ··you ...

• "OK," pronounced either okU or like. can be con~idered a fully naturali7ed word in Japanese. and is most of-ten wriuen this way in Roman Jeuer~ rather than in katakana.

Boy

:

;tv

1Jf

Uf<

(!)

llf

l

lH!:tn

"<"7.:.

1J'C-:>,

HiX.

,

Jll

'

.H

(!)

171M!

"<"-:>-r(hij:~'-IJ'~o

Ore ga shakai 110 mo~rdai-slu7 yaru kara. omae. rika 110 slwkudai ya11e kure11ai ka 11a?

1/me (subj.) social studies for worksheet will do bccau~e/so you ~cience for homework won't I you I do for me?

"

I

'

ll

do

_

the

worksheet

fo

r

oc

i

a

l

s

tudi

es

,

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• shakai means ''society," so as a school subject it refers to "social studies." The school subject is often called

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• rika refers to the natural sciences as a whole. and is what ~cience cla~ses in elementary and junior high school

are called.

• ka lUI a ks a conjectural queM ion. "I wonder if ... :· \O making a reque~t u\ing kana can make the request sound a lillie less abrupt: "I wonder if you wouldn't ... ?"

• the panicle tomo is added to the end of sentence~ to wongly affinnlagrcc with what the other person has said or asked.

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science for homework will do bccau,e/so you 'ociat 'tudie; (obj.)

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J-League

(continued from page 58) stars of Japanese soccer and was a member of the

Japanese team which fought unsuccessfully for a

Gamba Osaka. Gamba is the Italian word for leg, and sounds like the Japanese verb ganbaru,

mean-ing to fight hard or persevere. The derivatives

ganbatte and ganbare are traditional sports cheers. The Osaka club also considered the name Osaka JOzu C*l~

:J

3

-.A\

or Osaka Jaws, which sounds like

the Japanese wordjozu

_t.f-,

meaning skillful. The

Osaka group clearly did its homework on

multi-lin-gual word play.

\ berth in this year's World Cup tournament. With

~

the new popularity of the J-League. Ramos has

r

many endorsements, and is a common sight on Japa -';

1 . . . ~ -:; nese television.

~

II

J Over his long career. Ramos has set deep roots in

Japanese sports culture, exceptionally deep for a for

-eign-born athlete. His career stands in contrast to that

]-League stopwatch of another great Brazilian player. Zico, who cap -tured and broke the hearts of Japanese soccer fans in just a few seasons.

In addition to foreign names, J-League teams

have also adopted quite a few foreign players. They come from more than a dozen countries, including Brazil, England,

Nor-way, Germany, and the Ukraine. Teams are allowed as many as

five foreign players. although no more than three may be on the first-team roster. The troubles of foreign baseball players in Ja-pan have been well documented in books and movies, but J -League soccer has been a rather different story.

In Japanese baseball. foreign players -mostly Americans-have never been com -pletely welcome. Many foreigners complain

of treatment as suketto. or helpers -i.e .. not

Zico-a nickname derived from Portuguese-came to

Ja-pan in 1991 at the age of thirty-eight to help Mitsubishi Metals· corporate team become the J-League · s Kashima Antlers. Sports

prognosticators were stunned when Zico led the long-shot Ant -lers to win the first stage of J-League·s first season. Early this

summer. just three years after atTiving, Zico retired from Jap a-nese soccer. Three years is a normal tour of duty for a foreign athlete in Japan. and most

athletes leave with linle or no fanfare. But there was nothing normal about Zico's r

e-tirement. Public reaction was tremendous. real players. Conventional wisdom among

Japanese managers holds that rebellious and lazy American players disrupt the harmony of rigidly disciplined Japanese teams. A r

e-a±tll*Clii!illl • _J.LE.I\GUE _{After the final whistle blew for one of} his last games, Zico ran to the cheering fans at one end of the field and threw his jersey

into the crowd. They went wild. Running to

I'I'M~fiOJUI,IItJ~

cent beer commercial plays on this stereo -type by reversing the roles: it shows a locker

room scene of a burly American player in- Fuji Bank's popular ]-League passbook

the other end, he threw his shorts into the crowd. They went really wild. NHK sports

cameras zoomed to the faces of heartbroken dignantly lecturing the importance of tea

m-work to his laid-back Japanese teammate, who calmly gulps his

beer in defiance.

Instead of treating foreign players as suketto, J-League soc-cer has embraced them as skilled experts and teachers. Foreign baseball players are typically imported for size and strength,

young women. rolling tears streaking the red team-color face

paint that spelled his name, :;·-:I. Fortunately he had the fore

-sight to wear more than a jock under his shorts, or there might

have been a riot.

But Zico·s popularity extends beyond the millions of young women who ardently follow the J-League and its to smash home runs and hurl strikes. They often inspire

fear and awe, but are rarely singled out as teachers or role models: their power can't be taught, and their knowl

-edge and experience are often dismissed. But soccer is a

different game. a game in which normal-sized players

rely on skill and strategy. Japanese soccer has looked to

foreign players for technique and experience. not for

muscle. Many foreign soccer players have achieved

re-spect and acclaim that foreign baseball players have never known. Two exceptional Brazilian-born soccer players. Lui Ramos and Zico, show the heights that foreign pl ay-ers can reach.

~~·wm" players. When Zico retired, Japanese bookstores were sell

-Lui Ramos has played soccer in Japan since 1977. He was a fixture on the Yomiuri corporate team, now Yerdy Kawasaki of the J-League. ln 1989 he became a Japanese citizen. changing his name to Ramosu Rui ( 7

.:C

:A

ffllwt)

.

Ramos· light-brown curls and scraggly beard make him easy to spot on the playing field. and he sits

front and center in the team photo. He is one of the great

]-League haircare

ing at least four books by or about him. including the titles Jiiko no Riida Ron ( :;·-:I 0) ') -

?'"-

Rffil

.

·'Zico ·s " Theory of Leadership") and Kami.1·ama Jiiko no /s/10 (

·

N

I

1*:;

-

:I O)illi_9:. "Esteemed Words of the God Zico"'). Of course, foreign baseball players have also written

popu-lar books. Warren Cromartie's Samba Samurai Yakril

("Farewell Samurai Baseball." published in English as

Slugging It Out in Japan) was a very popular book in

Japan. but more for Cromartie's inside gossip than his theory of leadership.

Zico is clearly respected for his achievements and

leadership, not just for locker-room storytelling. Shortly before Zico returned to Brazil, then-Prime Minister Hata awarded him the Prime Minister's Prize. making him the

first foreigner to receive that award. To find a baseball

player who has approached Zico·s impact on Japan. it

(unuinued ou paxe 77)

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The manga

b

y

*~R]

Oshima Tsukasa

Shoot

!

tell the story of To!>hi. Kenji and Kazuhiro-freshmen at Kakegawa High School and the

newest members (along with two other fre hmen, ina and Sasaki) of the school's well known soccer club. Toshi, Kenji and Kazuhiro (they generally call each other by their first namc'"s) once formed the core of a formidable junior high school . occer team, but at Kakegawa High, they are

learning the hard way that high school soccer is a whole new ball game.

In this episode, the five freshmen are having their first practice with Kubo (referred to by all

as Kubo-san), the captain and star player of the team, who last year led the Kakegawa soccer club

to the Final Eight-an incredible accomplishment. since the club had been formed only six months

earlier. Kubo has been in the hospital, and thi i hi first time back with the team since the freshmen boys joined. Unaware that Kubo would be there, Toshi has shown up late to practice: now he is watching from the sidelines. aghast, as his friends get trounced single-handedly by the great Kubo.

The main characters

Hiramatsu Kazuhiro Tanaka Toshihiko (Toshi)

The artist

At 24 years of age. Oshima Tsukasa is a relative newcomer to the manga scene. But she has al-ready made an impact, winning the Kodansha Manga Award in the boys' manga category (~'if.

i~IWJ,

Shi1nen

Bum

on)

for

Shoot.'.

her debut work.

The judges were most impressed by her ability to

Shiraishi Kenji

4'"1'7'7:.-Kubo Yoshiharu Captain, Kakegawa Soccer Club

portray the experiences of adolescence with such accuracy and sympathy even while maintaining

the pace and excitement of a typical sports manga.

Currently. Oshima is in her third year of serializ -ing

Shoot!

in

Slu7kan ShiJnen

M

agajin

(~!Ill ~-1f-7

7"/:l /).

Incidentally, "Tsukasa" is a masculine pen name. Oshima's given name is Yoshiko.